Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Ancephaly in the Right Wing

Sometimes I think some folks on the religious right suffer from ancephaly. There's no disputing that military insurance does not pay for abortion except in cases of risk to the mother's life, but what value is there in bringing an ancephaletic fetus to term? It's not a person, and it never will be. It's a malfunctioning collection of cells. It's just emotionaly cruelty to the poor woman who is probably going to get asked all the usual questions - "Oh! When are you due?" "Is it a boy or a girl?" and so on for months! And childbirth is something people die from. Why go through it for something that will never be a baby? It's insane!!! Why put a woman through an extra five months of prenatal care? You can't say paying for the abortion services is more expensive than five months of prenatal care, plus labor and delivery. That's a bold faced lie. So that leaves only the "moral" question. This is the part where I'm pretty sure some of these folks were born without a brain. The only moral question here is "How would you like to be treated in this situation?" Would you like to be told that you've got to carry a zombie in your body for an extra five months, or would you like to have someone kindly and gently offer to take care of it for you with a small surgical procedure and you'll be back on your feet in a day or two and ready to try again in a month or so. I can't believe these nimwits control our country. Their version of god and morality is utterly absurd to me.

4 Comments:

Dear Ammy,

I am a mother of an anencephalic baby. You cannot imagine the horror and heartbreak I felt as I read your comments. Yes, I was crushed when my Leah only lived about 2 hours but I was thankful for those 2 hours. She held my finger with her tiny hand....her heart was beating, she was breathing, she was alive. I had twins so the doctor "offered" selective reduction to my husband and I. That is the nice term for abortion. We never once thought of aborting our baby. Look what we would have missed out on! Yes, it was tragic and hurt more than anything you could ever understand but EACH life is special and a gift from God. Please, consider your words before using someone's pregnancy as a political opportunity. I will be praying for you.

Uh, sure, whatever. This post is over a year old, and while this may have been your choice of direction, it doesn't speak to the issue that other people may not want to go that way, and should not be forced to do it.

Erica finds meaning in this "life". I don't. This was not a gift from god. This was a bug in the system. No one should be forced to burden their body with bringing such a thing to term. And that's what it's about: choice. Erica's religious beliefs make her feel one way. I don't believe in her god and should be asked to live by her god's rules, just as she wouldn't want to live by the rule of Allah or a Taoist perspective. Bah.

Why did I get a comment on this now, seventeen months after posting? I don't get it.

Wow I am just completely horrified & sickened by your statement. My baby, Hannah was anencephalic, and never once did I not consider her a baby just because of her condition. She was the most beautiful and amazing thing I've ever done, despite her condition.

I did choose to terminate, but it was only for my mental state of mind. Imagine waking up screaming in the middle of the night because you only want to hold you're baby. It was too much for me, and still is.

I did hold Hannah & and she was beautiful. I dressed her, we took pictures, and we had her cremated.

Even though I chose to terminate, she was never once a burden, nor do I regret her. I wish I had only been mentally strong enough to carry her to term. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

what kind of horrible person refers to a baby as a "thing" or a "bug in the system"?? My son was perfectly healthy at birth...and I absolutely agree that any mother should have the choice to terminate a pregnancy in this type of situation...but your choice of words were horrific. Do you even have a soul??